Korea's Junjin makes European debut at Platformers Days

South Korean manufacturer Junjin CSM exhibited aerial platforms in Europe for the first time at the Platformers Days exhibition in Hohenroda.

The company, exhibiting with new German dealer Liftprofi, showed two machines - the 15 m P-150A articulated boom and the 26 m T260I telescopic - and said it would have five booms CE-marked by November. The company aims to CE mark scissors in time for the Bauma show next year.

Jung-Sam Moon, Junjin's director of overseas sales, told Access International that the appointment of Liftprofi and its attendance at Platformers Days were part of a strategy to increase its aerial platform exports outside of Korea and China.

The company recently appointed a distributor in Brazil (crane dealer LFL) and Singapore (BS Technology), and Mr Moon and his colleagues are travelling to Australia to talk to potential dealers after their European trip. He said the company wanted to appoint a dealer network in North America as well.

Liftprofi, which is also a Bil-Jax and Isoli dealer, will represent Junjin in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and also act as ‘master distributor' for Europe.

Horst Krüger, Liftprofi's managing director, told Access International that until CE marking was completed on the machines he would focus on selling to shipyards in countries like Croatia and Russia. Junjin's strongest market in Korea and China is sales of telescopic booms to shipyards.

"We searched for a good product with a low price", said Mr Krüger, "We didn't find the low price, but it is a good product. I'm very sure it's a good machine for Europe. It's not built by a US company - it's more like a Japanese machine in quality."

The five booms to be CE market will be 18 m, 22 m, 26 m, 34 m and 38 m booms.

Although strongest in Asia, Junjin has been exporting machines for several years. Over the past two years, for example, it has sold around twenty 34 m booms to Dubai-based renter Johnson Arabia.

Mr Moon told Access International that Junjin would not be using low price as a way of entering the European market; "We believe our quality is equal to or better than some of our [Western] competitors."